cpatrickphoto
Colors Passing Through Us
COLORS PASSING THROUGH US
BY Marge Piercy
Purple as tulips in May, mauve
into lush velvet, purple
as the stain blackberries leave
on the lips, on the hands,
the purple of ripe grapes
sunlit and warm as flesh.
Every day I will give you a color,
like a new flower in a bud vase
on your desk. Every day
I will paint you, as women
color each other with henna
on hands and on feet.
Red as henna, as cinnamon,
as coals after the fire is banked,
the cardinal in the feeder,
the roses tumbling on the arbor
their weight bending the wood
the red of the syrup I make from petals.
Orange as the perfumed fruit
hanging their globes on the glossy tree,
orange as pumpkins in the field,
orange as butterflyweed and the monarchs
who come to eat it, orange as my
cat running lithe through the high grass.
Yellow as a goat’s wise and wicked eyes,
yellow as a hill of daffodils,
yellow as dandelions by the highway,
yellow as butter and egg yolks,
yellow as a school bus stopping you,
yellow as a slicker in a downpour.
Here is my bouquet, here is a sing
song of all the things you make
me think of, here is oblique
praise for the height and depth
of you and the width too.
Here is my box of new crayons at your feet.
Green as mint jelly, green
as a frog on a lily pad twanging,
the green of cos lettuce upright
about to bolt into opulent towers,
green as Grand Chartreuse in a clear
glass, green as wine bottles.
Blue as cornflowers, delphiniums,
bachelors’ buttons. Blue as Roquefort,
blue as Saga. Blue as still water.
Blue as the eyes of a Siamese cat.
Blue as shadows on new snow, as a spring
azure sipping from a puddle on the blacktop.
Cobalt as the midnight sky
when day has gone without a trace
and we lie in each other’s arms
eyes shut and fingers open
and all the colors of the world
pass through our bodies like strings of fire.
Nice to see you, susu! Thank you very much!
Posted about 1 month ago
Many thanks, Ellen! Glad you like it!
Posted 5 months ago
Beautiful work, Cindy. The color is phenomenal! Oh, how I would've loved to see your installation at the LAMAF!!!
Posted 7 months ago | Reply
Thanks, Jim! Me too... A big regret for me not going to the LAMAF. There's always next year for both of us! Book your flight now:)))
Posted 6 months ago
Thank you so much, calvina!!!
Posted 6 months ago
Thanks, Elise! Hopefully I will add more to this series before the end of summer! The poem certainly affords many potential titles!
Posted 9 months ago
Thank. You. So. Much. Means a lot to me that you like it, Anna!
Posted 10 months ago
Hi Tony! Thank you so much!
Posted 10 months ago
Three stunnings from you??? I am triply happy :-) :-) :-)
Posted 10 months ago
You were away? I was away but I thought you were posting throughout. It's funny, I just felt that I was too much making stuff to post - like being on a little hamster wheel - and not making good stuff, period. Now I post less but like it more. The stuff here? It's cool. Where will you take it?
Posted 11 months ago | Reply
Hi Capel! I was away because my account here was accidentally deleted. All of my images are gone, but the comments etc. were saved (thankfully!) I'm in the process of re-uploading everything. Anyway, this is a new series that I will hopefully continue throughout the summer. I'm glad you like it! And less is definitely more. We all get to that point where the excitement of posting wears off and we pare down our submissions to only our best stuff. It's a good place to be! I promise to catch up with your new work!
Posted 10 months ago
So I am:))) Thanks, Tess! Big smooch!
Posted 10 months ago
So good to see you, Carlein! Thanks a lot!!!
Posted 10 months ago
Lovely image and poetry. Mary is right, good to see you back.
Posted 11 months ago | Reply
Very glad to be back, Chris! Thanks a lot!
Posted 11 months ago
Mary, thank you! It's so nice to be back!
Posted 11 months agoAPP(S) USED
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BELONGS TO SERIES
H2O
OTHER SERIES
ISLAND HOLIDAY (REVISITED)
SOMETHING OLD
Love the colors :) ~a favorite for sure!
Posted about 1 month ago | Reply